School spirit

I have some friends who don't understand why I don't share their enthusiasm for one of my alma maters, Kansas State University. It's true I got my MS there, and probably spent more money there than I did for my undergraduate degree at Kansas University. But I cheer for KU, not K-State.

Part of the reason is how much more time I spent at KU. I got my BA on the extended plan due to real life interfering with the four year plan; I earned the MS in two years. I also got more involved in campus life as an undergrad, and went to basketball games, theater, and all sorts of concerts either as a participant or audience member. That didn't happen at K-State.

But the main reason I can't cheer on K-State is the ridiculous, slightly offensive and exclusionary phrase used by K-State: EMAW (scroll to the bottom of the page for the slogan information). Guess what that stands for? Every man a Wildcat. Yes, every man.

You might have noticed I am a woman, not a man.

Contrast that with KU, where the school chant (page has a link to an audio file of the chant -- go listen) is about rock formations and the school mascot is a mythical bird.

Since I am not a man, I'd rather cheer on a mythical bird with a really cool Gregorian-based chant. Somehow that seems more real to me.